Costa Rica dengue cases down 67% so far this year

May 23rd, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) The number of reported cases of dengue in Costa Rica are down 67% so far this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to the Ministry of Health. The year 2013 saw the worst epidemic of dengue in Costa Rica in the last two decades.

Between January 1st and May 10th of this year, there were 2,409 dengue cases across the country, according to the Ministry of Health.

Some 76% of all new cases have been concentrated in Limón, Guanacaste, and Puntarenas.

Dengue is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The symptoms of dengue are high fever, massive headaches and bodily pain. The symptoms are the same for dengue hemorrhagic, which is more deadly because it can cause internal bleeding, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Last year, the country registered 149 cases of dengue hemorrhagic, with one death. There have been just two such cases so far this year, with no deaths.